Martinook’s double-overtime goal lifts Hurricanes past Senators, 2-0 lead

Jordan Martinook delivered the kind of postseason moment that can define a series, scoring at 13:53 of the second overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators and a 2-0 lead in the first-round matchup. The finish came after 3 hours, 58 minutes at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, where 18,591 watched a game that kept tightening until Carolina finally broke through.

The Hurricanes set the tone early and then had to survive Ottawa’s push. Logan Stankoven opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 6:31 of the first period, and Sebastian Aho made it 2-0 at 7:50 of the second. Ottawa answered through Drake Batherson at 10:47 of the second period and Dylan Cozens at 16:40, a pair of goals that erased Carolina’s cushion and forced the game into extra time with the series momentum hanging on every shift.

The first overtime nearly ended in chaos before Martinook’s winner arrived. Mark Jankowski appeared to score at 17:18, but the Situation Room overturned the goal for offside on the zone entry. Moments later, Martinook earned a penalty shot after Warren Foegele hooked him on a breakaway at 16:49, but Linus Ullmark stopped the attempt. Martinook kept pressing, and when Nikolaj Ehlers fed him for the decisive chance in the second overtime, Martinook finished with K'Andre Miller credited on the play and Jordan Staal creating traffic in front.

The goaltenders carried the game deep into the night. Frederik Andersen made 37 saves for Carolina, while Ullmark stopped 43 shots for Ottawa, a performance that kept the Senators alive even as Carolina continued to generate enough pressure to win on a third-period and overtime grind. Rod Brind’Amour praised both netminders and Martinook’s persistence after the game, while Travis Green said the loss would sting and that Ottawa had time to reset before Game 3.

That is the identity Carolina has leaned on through the opening two games: depth scoring, structured defense and the willingness to keep attacking long after a clean finish seems available. Martinook, 33, supplied the finish on a night when the Hurricanes did not need style points, only a breakthrough that pushed Ottawa into a difficult hole before the series shifted to Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa for Game 3.